Athlete's Path
by NovaG6
Summary: In another world, where Neville became the Boy-Who-Lived, Harry Potter was ability to pursue what mattered most: Quidditch. Hogwarts – meet the world's youngest Quidditch superstar: Harry James Potter.


**Summary: **In another world, where Neville became the Boy-Who-Lived, Harry Potter was ability to pursue what mattered most: Quidditch. Hogwarts – meet the world's youngest Quidditch superstar: Harry James Potter.

**Notes: **I searched the web, looking for a story like this: one where Harry decides to become a Quidditch player, instead of a 'hero.' Didn't find any, so I decided to write one. Harry may be dragged into some conflicts (he is Harry, after all) so this story should be a nice blend of Harry, his family, Quidditch, and some battles with Death Eaters and Voldemort.

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**Athlete's Path  
**Flopdoodle  
**Chapter One  
**Beginning

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_Well... shit._

Harry Potter had been to Quidditch games, and then he had been to _Quidditch games. _He had thought many games fell under the second category, but according to what he saw now... well, none of those matches held even a candlelight to this.

The stadium was as tightly packed as could be, even with magic. Seats were literally in the millions, and the amount of cameras flashing nearly took out his eyesight. Though his teammates were equally stunned, they hid it much better, and smiled and blew kisses at their multiple admirers – after all, this was England's first time in the World Cup for over _fifty bloody years._

The British were tired of losing, and were confident of this new team (though a few of them still badmouthed them occasionally) and this was their chance to prove that they had the talent and skill to back those words up.

Harry began his breath control exercises – the new members had been taught them immediately after joining the team, to control their breathing and not lose energy while high up in the air. Despite that, Harry used it before every big game – it calmed him down, and helped him focus on the game ahead with 'stunning clarity' according to their team captain, Chaser Nate Brown.

_Five minutes._

Nate's words rang in Harry's ears as he tried desperately to focus himself: this was going to be the biggest game he was probably going to be in, and he didn't to screw up – especially because all his friends and family were here. His father had offered to pay for all of Harry's friends that wouldn't normally have been able to come, and they were here to watch him. They had never actually watched one of Harry's official games before – they had only watched his matches in Gryffindor, and heard his matches on the Wizard Radio.

_Don't disappoint 'em, Potter, _Harry told himself tightly. His parent's hadn't watched one of his games in months – he had told them not to come, because he wanted to surprise them in the final match of the season. What he hadn't expected was his parents had been called away on Order business on that day, and therefore hadn't been able to watch. Thankfully though, they had won the match, so they could watch an even bigger match than the final game of the season – the World Cup game.

_Three minutes!_

His brother's and sister's had only been to one of his games, but that was years ago, and they didn't exactly remember most of it. They hadn't been able to come for years because of Hogwarts, but the World Cup was in the summer, allowing them to watch for the first time in years. Uncle Sirius and Uncle Remus had watched most of his games, and they were here for this one, to cheer him on.

_Do your best! And then do better than that! _He recalled Nate's words and then forced them to the front of his mind: those words were going to be the ones that he would concentrate on this entire match. _Win! In the end, the losers will be congratulated for 'trying their hardest' but the winners will be congratulated for grabbing that victory and doing something that hasn't been done in over a hundred years!_

He considered those words – Nate was right. The British team hadn't been in the World Cup for over fifty years, and before those years, even when they did come, they had lost.

_Show them the true Champions of Quidditch!_

Harry grinned ferociously.

_One minute!_

Harry's fists clenched – this was it. He remembered that Nate had told him this match was going to be focused solely on the two youngest Seekers in history – himself, and Viktor. Nothing else would matter. In the end, it was up to them to win the game, or lose it. Viktor was a strong opponent, one of the greatest prodigies in the business, but Nate was confident he could do it, and so was the rest of the team.

_If they say I can, I will, _Harry vowed silently.

_30 seconds!_

This was it.

This was going to be the greatest match of his life, the one he had been eagerly awaiting for over a decade. This was his chance to prove that he, Harry James Potter, wasn't just a boy who used his father's position as an Auror to gain things for himself.

He would prove to them that Harry James Potter was a somebody.

"_Players! Mount your brooms! I want a clean and fair match!"_

Harry mounted his broom, a wide grin on his face, and he stared at the other Seeker, who sneered menacingly at him, and then raised an eyebrow.

The challenge had been made.

He heard the words, silently asking him if he could do it, if he could compare to the skill and experience of Krum.

And Harry smirked, and nodded.

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**Notes: **Awfully short, I'm sorry, but this is just the Prologue. The next chapter will be in the POV of Harry's family and friends. No, the dialogue won't usually be in italics, but I just thought it'd fit this chapter.

By the way, I know there was a story on this site that had the same/similar title to this one, and the same general idea as this one - I'll say this once, **this story is not a copy of that. **I never even got a chance to read it, and I only found out about it by reading old fic archives. So don't go hounding me about that. Yes, I admit, I did get inspired by the idea of it, but I'm hopefully not copying the same things that that author did.

Please reviews, and thanks for reading **Chapter One.**


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